Belleville JV, freshman baseball squads show promise

The 2014 baseball season was a very successful one for the Belleville High junior varsity and freshman teams.

Led by former BHS standout player Vinnie Orrei, the head coach, and assistant James Rovell, also a tremendous baseball player for the Bucs, Belleville's JV finished 13-3 and was undefeated in the Super Essex Conference Colonial Division for the second straight year.

In addition to dominating within the SEC's Colonial, the Bucs also had wins against West Orange and Montclair from the conference's American Division and Glen Ridge, who plays in the Colonial Division.

The JV pitching was paced by junior Gerard Cimolo, who was also named the team's MVP. Cimolo led the team in victories, with six, and also hit three homers. Gio Vega, a junior, had two wins and was credited by Orrei with having a tremendous curve and off-speed pitch.

Anthony Roman, a freshman, displayed a good fast ball and finished with a pair of wins for the JV team. Another freshman, Alex Luna, also excelled.

The catching staff was paced by freshman CJ Jackowski and sophomores Joe Perez and Omar Andriaquis. Roman was also the team's first baseman, with Nick Bruno, a junior, also seeing time there when he wasn't pitching on the varsity. Sophomores Andrew Perez and Allen Cruz, along with freshmen Sam Abreu, Brayan Villar and Brandon Basantes all excelled at second base and/or shortstop.

"Andrew was an excellent second baseman, with quick hands and feet," said Orrei of Perrez. "Allen gave us a strong lefty bat and was a smooth fielder. He and Andrew formed a nice tandem. Sam and Brayan had injuries during the middle of the season, but they're both very strong, all-around players. Brandon was very versatile, as a second baseman, shortstop and outfielder. He's also a solid hitter."

Chris Rodriguez, a sophomore, was an effective reserve player for the Bucs and had the game-winning hit in the season finale against Montclair.

The freshman team finished 2-4 in a limited schedule.

"We fell victim to a light schedule, since no teams in the Colonial Division had a freshman team," said Orrei. "We were also affected by rain outs."

Belleville's wins came against West Orange and Bayonne. In addition to the freshmen who played JV ball, Mark Cruz, Chris Scevoli, Steven Wiggins, Nick Guardabasco, Nick Accomando, Carlos Batista and Alan Espinosa had very good seasons for the freshman team.